Training sports vest

ABSTRACT

This football training vest prevents a user from using his or her body core to catch the American football and thereby force the user to catch the American football in his or her hands at a distance from his or her body core. The football training vest includes a cushion made of a foam rubber or other lightweight shock absorbent material that is fastened to the exterior surface of the front of the football training vest to train a user to properly catch an American football.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to a sports garment such as a jersey, jacket or a vest for use in outdoor or indoor sports activities, and more particularly in playing American football.

2. Description of the Related Art

A drawback to current sports garments that are used for outdoor or indoor sports activities, and more particularly for use in playing American football, is that when the sports garments are worn, the garments do not aid the user in learning how to properly catch an American football. It would be desirable to enable the user of such a sports garment to learn to catch an American football at a distance away from the user's body rather than allowing the American football to first touch or come close to touching the user's body before being caught by the user. Once the user has properly learned how to catch an American football, the user should also be able to quickly, easily and safely convert such a training sports garment into a conventional sports garment that will not interfere with the user's ability to play. And the entire training sports garment should preferably be lightweight, of a breathable material and weatherproof, allowing the user to wear the garment comfortably both indoors and outdoors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly described, the present invention, in one embodiment, is directed to aiding a user's ability to properly catch an American football at a distance from the user's body. To achieve this goal, the invention is directed to a football training vest comprising a cushion made of a foam rubber or other lightweight shock absorbent material that is fastened to the exterior surface of the front of the football training vest. The cushion extends axially from the exterior surface of the football training vest to prevent the user from using his or her body core to catch the American football and thereby force the user to catch the American football in his or her hands at a distance from his or her body core. Advantageously, the cushion may be detachable from the exterior surface of the football training vest to allow the user to transform the football vest into a conventional uniform or jersey. Alternatively, the cushion may be housed within a sleeve or fastened compartment within the top surface of the football training vest thereby again allowing the user to transform the football training vest into a conventional uniform or jersey by removing the cushion from said sleeve or fastened compartment. Alternatively, the football training vest may be constructed such that the cushion and the front of the football training vest is continuous and seamless and of a single construction. Alternatively, the football training vest may be constructed such that the cushion is molded on to the front surface of the football training vest.

In another embodiment of the invention, the football training vest may be comprised of an inflatable pouch fastened to the exterior surface of the football training vest that allows the user to inflate the pouch so that the top surface of the pouch extends axially from the front of the vest to again prevent the user from using his or her body core to catch the American football. Advantageously, the pouch may be deflated to allow the user to transform the football training vest into a conventional uniform or jersey.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a football training vest designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of a football training vest designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 present a top view of a football training vest designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a football training vest designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a football training vest designed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention illustrating the cushion 5 detaching from the exterior surface of the football training vest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a football training vest 1. The football training vest 1 includes a front 3, an opening for the user's head 21, padding 7 fastened to the exterior surface of the front 3 of the football training vest 1, a cushion 5 fastened to the top surface of the padding 7, a fastening means (not shown) on the top surface of the padding 7 and bottom surface of the cushion 5 allowing the user to fasten and unfasten the cushion 5 from the padding 7 of the football training vest 1, a back 13 (not shown) and side panels 19 (not shown) connecting the front 3 of the football training vest 1 to the back 13 (not shown). The football training vest 1 may further include shoulder pads 11 fastened to the interior surface of the football training vest 1 to provide the football training vest 1 with structure when in use and protect the user's upper body when coming into contact with other players.

The cushion 5 extends axially from the top surface of the padding 7 to prevent the user from using his or her body core to catch the American football and thereby force the user to catch the American football in his or her hands at a distance from his or her body core. The cushion 5 may be but is not limited to any shock absorbing lightweight material such as foam rubber, EVA Foam, PE Foam, PU Foam, and any other shock absorbent foam. The cushion 5 may also be a structured bag or pouch that is fastened to the top surface of the padding 7 and filled with silicone or any other shock absorbing liquid or solid, or water or gas. The perimeter of the cushion 5 may be any shape including square, rectilinear, circular, elliptical, oval, figure eight, and any polygonal shape but it is not limited to the foregoing shapes.

The fastening means may be comprised of Velcro™ strips. The fastening means may also be a zipper closure or other types of fasteners, such as cloth ties or straps with a belt buckle on one side and belt holes or notches on the other side or flexible tabs with a snap locking closure or the like, but it is not limited to the foregoing fastening means. Such fastening means would allow the user to transform the football training vest 1 into a conventional uniform or jersey.

The football training vest 1 may be made of such fabric as spandex, cotton, nylon and polypropylene among others and blends thereof. Breathable cloth or fabric is suggested to ease the passage of perspiration, and the technology to make such fabrics is deemed conventional.

In another embodiment of the invention, the cushion 5 may be housed within the padding 7 of the football training vest 1. The perimeter of the padding 7 would be comprised of fastening means (not shown) located on the top surface of the front 3 and the bottom surface of the padding 7 that would allow the user to open and refasten the padding 7 to remove the cushion 5. Such fastening means would allow the user to transform the football training vest 1 into a conventional uniform or jersey.

In another embodiment of the invention, the cushion 5 may be housed within a sleeve fastened to the top surface of the padding 7. The sleeve may be open ended with openings large enough to fit the area of the cushion 5 which would allow the user to slide the cushion 5 in and out of the sleeve to transform the football training vest 1 into a conventional uniform or jersey.

In another embodiment of the invention, the cushion 5 may be an inflatable pouch that is fastened to the top surface of the padding 7. By inflating the pouch with air or water, the top surface of the pouch will extend axially from the top surface of the padding 7 thereby preventing the user from using his or her body core to catch the American football.

In another embodiment of the invention, the football training vest 1 may be constructed such that the cushion 5 and the front of the football training vest 3 is continuous and seamless and of a single construction. In such an embodiment, the padding 7 may be omitted. Alternatively, the football training vest may be constructed such that the cushion 5 is molded on to the front surface of the football training vest 3. Again, in such an embodiment, the padding 7 may be omitted.

Preferably, the football training vest 1 may have contact detecting and recording mechanisms connected to the cushion 5 that would allow the user to measure his or her performance by tracking the amount of times an American football was allowed to touch the cushion 5. In this embodiment, the cushion may have contact sensors that are connected to a microprocessor or microcontroller that is programmed to process and record the player's performance. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the contact detecting and recording mechanism may also be made with any conventional contact detecting and recording technology as desired. The football training vest 1 may also have a force measuring mechanism that would allow the user to measure the force with which the American football was received. In this embodiment of the invention, the cushion may have a sensing unit which includes a controller subsystem connected with one or more of the following sensors: a speed sensor, force sensor and a power sensor. The controller subsystem may include a microprocessor or microcontroller and can include preamplifiers and A/D converters to interface with the sensor(s) (alternatively, the sensor contains such circuitry). The controller subsystem can further include logic circuitry and/or software modules to logic out unwanted data from the sensors. Preferably, the controller subsystem also includes digital memory to store parameters for the sensors and to store data such as power, force and speed (collectively “performance data”) for later retrieval. A battery typically is used to power the controller subsystem. The battery can also be used for the sensors, if required. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the force measuring mechanism may also be made with any conventional force, speed or power measuring technology as desired.

FIG. 2 illustrates the rear view of a football training vest 1 with back 13 and fastening means, in this embodiment a zipper 15 having a zipper pull 17, to fasten and unfasten the back 13 of the football training vest 1. The fastening means may also be comprised of Velcro™ strips or other types of fasteners, such as cloth ties or straps with a belt buckle on one side and belt holes or notches on the other side or flexible tabs with a snap locking closure or the like but is not limited to the foregoing fastening means.

FIG. 3 illustrates the top view of a football training vest 1. FIG. 3 illustrates how the padding 7 and cushion 5 extend axially from the top surface of the front 3 of the football training vest 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the football training vest with side panels 19 that connect the front 3 of the football training vest 1 to the back 13. The edges of the side panels 19 may be stitched or sewn to the interior of the front 3 and back 13 of the football training vest 1. Alternatively, the side panels 19 may be fastened to the front 3 and back 13 via fastening means. The fastening means may also be comprised of Velcro™ strips or other types of fasteners, such as cloth ties or straps with a belt buckle on one side and belt holes or notches on the other side or flexible tabs with a snap locking closure or the like but is not limited to the foregoing fastening means.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the football training vest where the cushion 5 may be detached from the padding 7 of the football training vest 1.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof. 

1. A garment adapted to cover a major portion of the trunk of a person, said garment comprising: a front; and a shock absorbent cushion connected to the center of the top surface of said front so not to interfere with person's movement of arms and said shock absorbent cushion extending axially from said front to a pre-determined height of at least two inches from said front to aid person in catching an object coming towards person without the object coming into contact with said front.
 2. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is detachable from said front.
 3. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is housed within a sleeve fastened to said front.
 4. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion may be a structured bag that may be filled with a liquid.
 5. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion may be a structured bag that may be filled with a gas.
 6. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion may be a structured bag that may be filled with a solid.
 7. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is elliptical in perimeter.
 8. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is circular in perimeter.
 9. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is rectilinear in perimeter
 10. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is connected to a contact detecting and recording mechanism.
 11. A garment according to claim 1, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is connected to a force measuring and recording mechanism.
 12. A garment adapted to cover a major portion of the trunk of a person, said garment comprising: a front; and an inflatable pouch fastened to the center of said front so not to interfere with person's movement of arms that when said pouch is inflated it extends axially from said front to a pre-determined height of at least two inches from said front to aid person in catching an object coming towards person without the object coming into contact with said front.
 13. A garment according to claim 12, wherein said inflated pouch is connected to a contact detecting and recording mechanism.
 14. A garment according to claim 12, wherein said inflated pouch is connected to a force measuring and recording mechanism.
 15. A garment adapted to cover a major portion of the trunk of a person, said garment comprising: a front; and a shock absorbent cushion extending axially from the center of said front so not to interfere with person's movement of arms and to a pre-determined height of at least two inches from said front to aid person in catching an object coming towards person without the object coming into contact with said front.
 16. A garment according to claim 15, wherein said shock absorbent cushion and said front are of a single construction.
 17. A garment according to claim 15, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is molded on to the front surface of said front.
 18. A garment according to claim 15, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is connected to a contact detecting and recording mechanism.
 19. A garment according to claim 15, wherein said shock absorbent cushion is connected to a force measuring and recording mechanism. 